U.S. appeals court finds Astra's Seroquel XR patent infringed

Reuters

By Terry Baynes

Feb 14 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld alower court ruling that found the formulation patent forAstraZeneca's anti-psychotic drug Seroquel XR was validand had been infringed by Mylan Inc and other companiesseeking to sell generic versions of the medicine.

Without explanation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for theFederal Circuit in a one-line order affirmed the decision issuedby a New Jersey federal court in March.

AstraZeneca has said that the judgment is limited to theU.S. market only.

The ruling applies to Mylan as well as drugmakers OsmoticaPharmaceutical Corp and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Seroquel XR is an extended release version of Seroquel,which is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder anddepression. Facing competition from generic forms of basicSeroquel, AstraZeneca has focused on defending its patents onthe long-acting version.

AstraZeneca contends that its patent on the extended releaseversion of the drug is valid until 2017. In addition to theUnited States, the company has previously won Seroquel XR patentchallenges in Spain and the Netherlands. British and Germancourts have found the patent invalid.

AstraZeneca welcomed the latest U.S. ruling in a statement,saying it demonstrated the strength of the intellectual propertyprotecting Seroquel XR.

Lawyers for the Mylan, Osmotica and Torrent did notimmediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals et al v. AnchenPharmaceuticals et al, U.S. Court of Appeals for the FederalCircuit, Nos. 12-1359.